We may despair when we see Muslim women in Palestine teaching their children to kill and die "for Allah". We may feel apprehensive, disgusted, when we see Muslim women hiding inside Burqas. We may feel sad that little girls are brought up to be slaves to their fathers, brothers - and every male on earth. But, in Morocco, some Muslim women and some enlightened Muslim men are bringing light and hope to girls.
Phyllis Carter
In Morocco, women are being employed as religious leaders — called Morchidat — for the first time, offering advice and guidance in mosques, schools, prisons, and orphanages around the country. The Islam they teach is based on tolerance, compassion and equality.
Casablanca Calling follows three exceptional women: Karima is witty, mischievous, and outgoing; Bouchra is powerhouse of energy working in the North; Hannane is a poetic soul — warm, wise, and compassionate, who wants to change people's perceptions of the true teachings of Islam — including non-Muslims's conception of religious guides as "scary men with beards."
In the mosques, the Morchidat offer advice on everything from marital relationships, to bringing up children, work, money, and neighborhood disputes. They mentor teenagers in schools and fight against early marriage. They go into orphanages to offer comfort and guidance to children whose parents can't afford to keep them. And they visit prisons to counsel the most vulnerable prisoners, and mediate between the inmates and their estranged families.
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